A positive birth centre delivery: Lowri’s birth story
I was lucky to have a normal and healthy pregnancy, which meant that we were eligible for the birth centre delivery we had hoped for. I learnt about hypnobirthing through the HPHB course; something I previously knew little about. Towards the end of my pregnancy, when I was feeling at my most uncomfortable and having difficulty sleeping, we used the relaxation techniques that we had learnt on the course. My partner would read the relaxation scripts to me at night and we would practise breathing exercises, which were a huge help in getting a good night’s sleep!
I went into labour at around 5am, the day after my due date. I had been woken up in the night by Braxton Hicks contractions before, which had subsisted after getting up and moving around. I knew it was the real deal this time as the contractions didn’t slow down, no matter what I did. My contractions weren’t regular enough to go to the hospital, so we stayed at home and tried to relax to get the oxytocin flowing. We spent the day watching Netflix, having baths, and drinking lots of cups of tea. We also managed to eat a few plain meals. I was able to use the breathing techniques I had learnt from HPHB to help me through the contractions. During labour I also discovered that counting things was a great distraction for me - at one point I counted all the tiles in my bathroom!
My waters finally broke in the early hours of the following morning when I was lying in the bath. With tiredness beginning to set in the next hour was the hardest part of labour and birth for me.
As soon as my waters had broken the contractions stepped up a level, becoming stronger and more frequent. It was time to go to the hospital. This felt like an impossible task as with every contraction, I was sick and my waters continued to gush out. My partner dressed me three times before we could leave for the hospital because my clothes kept getting soaked. By the time we reached the birth centre triage room, I felt I had completely lost control of my body and regaining that state of relaxation was a challenge. My team were able to give me an injection of pethidine for pain relief which made everything from here onwards a bit hazy.
My partner and I lay on the bed together and everything felt much calmer. The lights were dimmed and we played music from my pre-prepared birth playlist, as I had wanted in my birth preferences. I needed to have a catheter which was something I was nervous about, but I was barely aware of it and it didn’t cause me any pain. My labour quickly accelerated from here onwards, and I felt quite a natural urge to push.
The pushing stage was the easiest part for me (though I have no sense of how long it lasted) and I remember feeling so excited to meet my baby and full of confidence that I was nearly there. At 9.52am, our little girl was born!
Thanks to HPHB, I felt well prepared for my birth. I knew about the pain medications available to me and the pros and cons of each, so I was able to make a quick and informed decision about the pethidine. I knew about the types of interventions and even though I had an uncomplicated birth, I was accepting that this might not be the case. Before our Obstetrics session, anything other than my idea of the perfect delivery had scared me, so it really helped me to confront my feelings about the ‘ideal’ scenario. The shopping lists were also a really useful resource for packing the hospital bag and having everything we needed for the first few days and weeks with our newborn.
Any pain or exhaustion from labour went immediately out the window the moment I first saw my baby. I felt disbelief and amazement! Even though we had been preparing to meet her for the past 9 months, I still couldn’t equate this tiny little human being to a person that had been growing inside my belly! She was also more beautiful to me than I could possibly have imagined. I felt a sense of relief to hear her crying for the first time and an overwhelming rush of love and joy. We sang Happy Birthday to her in the minutes after she was born, which is an idea that came from the HPHB course!
We were grateful to be able to return home with our precious daughter later the same day. I was feeling remarkably well. HPHB had prepared me for the likelihood of some tearing, so I was delighted to discover that I needed no stitches after birth. I found out about the benefits of perineal massage through the HPHB course and I believe it helped prevent the need for any stitches.
Feeding came very naturally to baby Lowri but there were some learnings from the lactation consultant on the course that got our breastfeeding off to a great start. Firstly, we learnt about the benefits of colostrum harvesting which I did every day from 39 weeks onwards. It was reassuring to have as a backup in the moments when we were finding feeding tricky, as well as giving her those super nutrients! I also think because of the hand expressing I did before she was born, this helped with my supply when she arrived and didn’t have any problems giving her what she needed. The other crucial learning for us was the importance of establishing the first feed soon after birth. Although my partner was keen to have skin to skin time with our baby as soon as he could, we learnt that it was more important that she stayed with me until we had our first feed.
The first few days with our baby were a rollercoaster of emotions but the three of us cocooned ourselves in our own little bubble of blissful happiness. We had everything we needed thanks to the handy shopping list in the HPHB manual. As a first-time parent, I think you will always question everything you do but HPHB helped give me a bit more confidence in caring for a newborn and what to expect - including everything from safe sleeping to the correct colour of poo! We also found ourselves a lovely support network through HPHB.
I would definitely recommend HPHB to any first-time parents. It gave plenty of opportunity for us to ask the experts (obstetrician, midwife, lactation consultant etc) our questions making it a very personalised course and much more comprehensive than any book you can read. There were a lot of takeaways for us, which enhanced our whole birth experience and made life easier in the early days of parenthood. Plenty of time was built in for socialising so we got to know other parents locally
Top Tips:
Harvest colostrum before birth, if possible
Use relaxation and breathing techniques to help get to sleep
Do your perineal massage!
Enjoy every precious moment with your baby
